There’s a reason David Hyde Pierce didn’t appear in the “Frasier” revival.
The actor portrayed Dr. Niles Crane for 11 seasons from 1993 to 2004. During his time on the NBC sitcom, he won four Emmy Awards and received a slew of other accolades and recognitions.
A 10-episode revival starring lead Kelsey Grammer as the pretentious-yet-lovable psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane was released on Oct. 12 on Paramount+ — with Hyde Pierce's Niles nowhere in sight.
While the show made him a household name, Hyde Pierce told the Los Angeles Times that he had a full plate and “never really wanted to go back” to playing the role of Niles.
“I never really wanted to go back,” he told the newspaper. “It’s not like I said, ‘Oh, I don’t ever want to do that again.’ I loved every moment. It was that I wanted to do other things."
“And when we got into real talks about the reboot, I had just started on the ‘Julia’ TV show and was working on a musical and going to do another musical, not this one,” he continued. “And I just thought, ‘I don’t want to be committed to a show and not be able to do stuff like this.’ And I also thought, ‘They don’t actually need me.’”
He added, “Frasier has moved on to a new world. They have new characters. And I think I’m right. It’s doing great. And the new people they have are great.”
The new “Frasier” saw the titular character embarking on a new career and relocating to the East Coast to be closer to his son. While Niles wasn’t featured in the reboot, Peri Gilpin reprised her role as Roz, Frasier’s radio partner on the original “Frasier.” The two had a sweet reunion during the show.
Grammer previously told TODAY that other than a possible “one-off appearance,” his former co-star wouldn’t be coming back for the new episodes.
He also told the Associated Press in 2022, “David (Hyde Pierce) honestly wasn’t very interested in playing that role again and I get that. He’s an actor.”
The “Frasier” revival has yet to be picked up for a second season.